title: "Beginner Path" weight: 2 summary: "A 7‑step plan to learn Sruja without overwhelm." difficulty: "beginner" estimatedTime: "~2–3 hours total"

Beginner Path: Learn Sruja Without Overwhelm

If you just did Quick start, you already have your first diagram — the 7 steps below build on that and take about 2–3 hours total. Each step has a clear outcome, takes 10–30 minutes, and gives immediate feedback.

Tip

Track your progress: Check off each step as you complete it. This path takes approximately 2–3 hours total.

Step 1: Getting Started ⏱️ 20–30 min

• Do: Quick start (minimal style). Optional: Getting started (full) (stdlib import).
• Outcome: CLI installed, first model created
• What you'll do: Install Sruja CLI and create your first architecture file
• Success check: You can run sruja lint and sruja export mermaid on your file and get a diagram

Step 2: CLI Basics ⏱️ 20 min

• Tutorial: CLI basics
• Outcome: Run lint, fmt, tree, export commands confidently
• What you'll do: Learn essential CLI commands for working with Sruja files
• Success check: You can validate, format, and export your architecture

Step 3: DSL Basics ⏱️ 25–30 min

• Tutorial: DSL basics
• Quiz: Optional; add exercises in the book if desired
• Outcome: Understand systems, containers, components, relations
• What you'll do: Learn the core DSL syntax and concepts
• Success check: You can read and write basic Sruja DSL code

Step 4: Validation & Linting ⏱️ 15–20 min

• Tutorial: Validation & linting
• Challenge: Missing relations
• Outcome: Fix common modeling errors
• What you'll do: Learn how Sruja validates your architecture and catches errors
• Success check: You can identify and fix validation errors

Step 5: Export Diagrams ⏱️ 15–20 min

• Tutorial: Export diagrams
• Outcome: Generate diagrams (D2, SVG) and Markdown
• What you'll do: Learn to export your architecture in different formats
• Success check: You can export diagrams in multiple formats

Step 6: Practice Micro‑Challenges ⏱️ 20–30 min

• Challenge: Add component
• Challenge: Fix relations
• Challenge: Queue worker
• Outcome: Build confidence with small tasks
• What you'll do: Practice with real-world scenarios
• Success check: You can complete challenges without looking at solutions

Step 7: Systems Thinking ⏱️ 20 min

• Tutorial: Systems thinking
• Outcome: Think in flows, dependencies, and constraints
• What you'll do: Learn to model complex systems and relationships
• Success check: You can model a multi-system architecture

Tips to Avoid Overwhelm

• Small steps: limit sessions to 20–30 minutes
• Visible outcomes: run a command or export a diagram every step
• One concept at a time: model, then lint, then export
• Use checklists: follow the repo docs style when writing
• Ask for help: Discord and Discussions links in README

What’s Next

• Course: System Design 101 – Module 1
• Advanced tutorials: Deployment modeling

Note: Sruja is free and open source (Apache 2.0 licensed). Join the community on Discord or GitHub Discussions for help and to contribute.